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Granted we had our fair share of characters this season, but with the exception of Kim and Troy, everyone else is/was just playing for time. Everyone sings Kim's praises in their confessionals...SO WHY ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH DO YOU WANT TO SIT NEXT TO HER IN THE FINALS??? Idiots, zombies, coattail riders. As stated before, Troy's curse was Kim's blessing. In the end I'm perfectly fine with a Kim win. ONLY if Chelsea or Sabrina can win the last two ICs individually, I could make a mild case for either of those two.

1) KIM (9,5,4,7,1,1,2,1,1,2,1,1) - Her HII gives her a free pass to the F4 and if she wins the final IC, I see no way she loses. Before anyone jumps all over me, I am NOT making a direct comparison between Brian (Thailand) and Kim. But as solid a game as Brian played, he will never get his due and be ranked high among the other game winners because of the pathetic cast in Thailand. As deserving as a Kim victory would be, (with the exception of Troy) no one else TRULY played this game to give THEMSELVES a realistic chance of winning. Much like Brian, Kim does not need to apologize for Production's debacle so she finishes the last ranking of this season as my #1.

2) CHELSEA (2,8,8,10,5,7,6,9,4,4,4,4) - Nice win in the RC. If the FTC was a F2, her selections would have been more of a challenge. But with a F3 not a big risk at this stage of the game. Her best shot to WIN the game was to blindside Kim this episode. She'll have one more opportunity to eliminate Kim at F4, but if Kim wins the final IC, it's game over.

3) ALICIA (16,16,13,12,7,12,11,6,7,8,6,6) - Solid effort in the IC. For all her babble about "controlling the game," she squandered the only remote chance she had of winning (sitting next to Tarzan and Christina.) Now she has ZERO chance. I honestly feel the threat of the imfamous purple rock would have spooked Kim into voting Chelsea. But that would be a tactic Alicia would have orchestrated only if she truly had a desire to WIN as opposed to just playing for time.

4) SABRINA (1,1,1,1,4,3,4,4,3,3,2,5) - If she sits next to Alicia and Christina at FTC, she wins. And the only way that happens is to win the final two ICs. Kim's right...she'll handle herself well at FTC so she could be the next one at risk.

5) CHRISTINA (6,2,6,5,9,5,3,5,8,7,7,2) - She did herself no favors ratting out Chelsea to Kim. Although at this point there's not much she's going to do to "hurt" her game. I'm SOOOO ready for her to join the Jury so we can see her walk into TC looking great.

BOOTED) TARZAN (11,12,15,14,13,10,9,10,6,5,5,3) - Not much more to say about this socially inept Bozo. Simply put, this man was a "cancer" wherever he was placed in the game; an added dilemma for any tribemate pre-merge. His confessional stating he won't win but it would be good just to make the F3 crystalizes the mindset of the majority of this sorry cast. Like I said with Alicia, should have made a harder push for the purple rock.

Thanks to all who participated in the rankings every week this season. If they bring back former castaways (losers) in future games, I won't contribute those seasons...which would dwindle this already sad participation to only a select few.

Maybe if they go back to their roots and cast the show so Survivor can live up to its name, we may get more interest. But I won't hold my breath.

Alright, heading into the finale! In order based on who I think is best positioned to win.

1. Sabrina (1). Smart player, level-headed, has clearly been thinking jury management for several episodes now. She's been using Kim as her stalking horse, so she could swing bitter jurors to her side playing it correctly at FTC.

2. Kim (2). The golden girl of SOW, and clearly a great player win or lose. Tied with Sabrina on her chances of winning this thing, I would love it if they both get to FTC. Her vulnerability is that she has been the one leading people on, keeping multiple deals riding. But her strong suit is the magic Kim charm, no one can genuinely hate her.

3. Chelsea (4). Sitting next to Kim she has a chance of pulling off a win, sitting next to Sabrina she has a chance of pulling off a win, sitting next to both Kim and Sabrina her chances aren't so good. But she has been the spine of Salani, and if she can win the final two immunities she can carry that super-Chels momentum into FTC improving her chances. If she talks about things like fairness and deserving people, on the other hand, however much she may believe that's what she has been about, it would likely just ring hollow to too many jurors.

4. Christina (5). Tied with Alicia in having no chance of winning this thing. Shame we can't know how good a player she might have been had she been part of the instant alliance formed on the trek to camp, but for a player in a bad position she's made some smart moves and some not so smart moves, and some moves that were risky. Trying to put the spotlight on Chelsea last time backfired on her, but if it hadn't it would have been worth the risk.

5. Alicia (6). The best thing about Alicia, she actually thinks she can win this thing. Hey, if I were playing Survivor, no matter how bad a spot I might be in, I would be holding onto the hope that I could pull off a win; as long as I'm in the game I'm playing to win. I'm not delusional, though, and Alicia is. Clueless about the subtleties of the game, she's a good player only on the surface, doesn't have a chance in front of a jury.

Good-bye, Greg "Tarzan" (3). It is usually too late by the time you get to TC to try to alter a vote plan, unless your planning to alter it to get yourself voted out. Blowing whatever chance he had of getting any jury votes at TC, now that was funny! Glad he's gone, he was a terrible player. But a sometimes enjoyable character.

They didn't seriously want us to believe that Chelsea was going home, did they?

Yeah, right.

Why would two girls who didn't have the guts to make a move at 7 be willing to force a 3-3 tie?

I can hardly disagree with Arubaba more here. I think this was a great cast, for the most part. I believe that Kim's dominance is for 3 reasons: she is a great player, she has two great allies to help her including the perfect loyal soldier as a second, and lastly, she got a couple GREAT breaks, including Colton, the men forfeiting immunity, and then ending up in the majority after the tribal switch.

Very glad both Chelsea and Christina are in the finale. That alone makes it worth watching.

1. CHELSEA - She chose her alliance well because both Sabrina and Kim fought to keep her in the game. The long highlight on her during the RC was a VERY good sign for her. Really, she has had more of a personal story than anyone else in the game. That and a bitter jury, I believe, gives her a decent shot. But, get ready for this, forget the original plan. She now needs to see this through and take Kim and Sabrina to the end. She needs to beat them straight up. How will the jury take her game played off loyalty and emotion? Perhaps not well, and Kim and Sabrina are both smarter than her. BUT, I'm proud of her game either way. She is part of probably the most impressive trio to ever play the game.

2. KIM - Another episode, another brilliantly told lie. Russell would call her push on Alicia "planting a seed." It helped that Tarzan had foolishly told Alicia the exact same thing he told Kim. It also helped when Christina said he had told her a similar story. All the Tarzan lies made Kim's lie that much more believable. Kim has told so many lies that I'm starting to lose track. I'm not even sure she's telling the truth in confessional any more. The lies aren't the heart of Kim's game; it is the charm, which allows her lies to be believed. That charm is actually reminiscent of Parvati and B-Rob. She herself stated the main reason to keep Chelsea around: Chelsea and Sabrina both likely take her to the end if they win F4. Alicia might not. It is the F4 that she needs to plan for since the F5 is covered. I actually find it pathetic that she considered booting Chelsea if Alicia and Christina didn't relent. What are they going to do? Force a tie? Yeah right. You stick to your guns and force them to avoid the tie.She is looking at a bitter jury, but she has the smarts and the charm to win them over. And if she is sitting next to Chelsea and Sabrina, then they have as much to be blamed for as her.

3. SABRINA - I was impressed with how hard she pushed to keep Chelsea in the game. She is proving to be as loyal as Chelsea. I still have her in the F3 as long as Alicia doesn't win the F4 immunity. If the jury is bitter enough, she has a shot. Her cool head and smarts will give her an edge. I agree with dabo that ever since Troy left the game, Sabrina has done a much better job with the jury.

4. CHRISTINA - Like Aruba, I could rag on her apparent lack of end game. Does she really think she could beat Kim, Chelsea or Sabrina in an F3? However, when you consider that she was never in the majority women's alliance and if no tribal switch was likely the 5th person out, it is actually kind of impressive that she is still in the game. I am glad she's made it to the final episode.

5. ALICIA - I don't get it. At F7, you had your closest ally in the game in Kat and the same two puppets you had this episode. Instead of making a move and booting Chelsea, Sabrina or Kim that episode, you try to talk tough at F6? Idiotic. She has failed to notice that Kim has destroyed her game with the last two boots. Like Kim has said, she's delusional. I guess she also failed to realize that if Kim had to play the purple rock, so would SHE. Actually, she should have done that if she could have gotten Christina to go for it. I have used this math before though no one seems to get it: a 25% chance at winning is better than a 0% chance.

HILARIOUS

TARZAN - Colton's medivac ruined his game as much as it did Jonas. Being a non-threat protected him until now. He was really trying at the end. As it turns out, he was trying too hard. He should have kept his "convince the jury" story to Kim instead of telling Alicia the same thing. Foolish. Props for arguably the most hilarious final words in Survivor history, however. Big Props.

My criticism of the cast is purely from a gameplaying standpoint...the object to any game I've ever played is to WIN. As far as entertainment, zaniness, and laughabity I would agree with your acceptance of this cast. But at the end of the day there's still a game to be played, and an overwhelming majority of this cast's primary objective was to see how far they could get and play for time even at the risk of reducing their chances to win. Hard to debate that fact regardless of how much someone loved this cast.

You ask what's Tarzan, Alicia, and Christina to do--force a tie? You betcha! And why not...with Alicia wearing the Immunity Necklace she would not be drawing a stone. The way I understand the rule is the two players with the equal number of votes do not draw stones either.

Tarzan, Alicia, and Christina go to TC with all voting Chelsea and the prospect of a tie. They do NOT tell Kim about it either. Kim, Chelsea and Sabrina still vote Tarzan. When the votes are 3-3 there's a revote with Alicia, Christina, Kim, and Sabrina voting. If THAT vote ends 2-2, only then would Kim, Sabrina, and Christina draw stones. Sabrina or Kim or both would mostly likely be forced to change their vote(s). There's NOOOO way either put their game as the fate of a purple stone and a 1/3 chance of ending their game.

The edit has convinced us that no one can beat Kim. I think that if you ask Chelsea, Sabrina and Alicia, at this point in the game, if they can win, they would all say that they can. I don't think they are playing for second place.

The way the edit has been is starting to make me wonder if perhaps Kim sweeps the votes at FTC. The edit may be trying to explain that.

Just because Tarzan talked about F4 to both Kim and Alicia doesn't mean he was hoping for F4. He was trying to find a way into the F3 and just starting with getting to the F4.

You make a good point with the fact that Alicia had immunity and therefore wouldn't have had to draw stones. However, that point actually changes the math to the point where even I would not advise forcing the tie.

If you are Christina, you know that neither Alicia, nor Tarzan, nor Chelsea will be drawing rocks. That means that only you, Kim and Sabrina will be. That puts the odds at 1 in 3 or 33% chance of going home.

OR you can simply vote for Tarzan and send him home, live for another day.

Players praising Kim for how "convincing" she is, how captivating she is, how strong of a player she is, and how many rewards she goes on and probably eating better on Survivor than half of the Americans back at home has NOTHING to do with editing. It has everything to do with morons allowing it to happen. Not that I'm completely upset with that because having a non-UTR, non-coattail rider, and non-inept player like Kim win would suit me fine.

People who are delussional or moronic say many things contrary to the facts. You're probably correct in your assessment that they all THINK they can win...making even more of a case that a majority of this year's cast (as entertaining, laughable, and appealing to the eye as they were from a viewer's standpoint) were idiots, zombies, and coattail riders after you scratch the surface.

I agree that Tarzan was also looking for a way to get into the F3...but he has a slim chance to win and NO chance sitting next to Kim. That has been the point I've been driving home. Your second to last line in your prior post pretty much sums up their sorry mindset..."live for another day." Whereas I'm OK with that logic early on (when tribe vs. tribe) that time passes when it's merge. Your primary purpose is to win and put YOURSELF in the best possible position to achieve that.

If I'm Tarzan or Alicia, I don't play that angle to Christina that she has a 33% chance of going home. If you want to use percantages tell her there's a 67% of breaking up the power of the game and a duo NO ONE has a shot of beating.

But the way to approach Christina is there's NO WAY either Kim or Sabrina will allow that to happen. It would be Kim or Sabrina more apt to simply vote for Chelsea "and live for another day." It didn't take a whole bunch of arm-twisting or leg-pulling to tell Christina she was the pawn when they ousted Troy. I honestly do not believe it would have been a tough sell here.

I agree that if you are simply paying attention to who is going on all the rewards, who is winning most the ICs, and to what people are saying, then it should be obvious to everyone that Kim might be nearly unbeatable at FTC.

I guess a number of people may just be hoping for a bitter jury.

And yes, the same reasoning that would compel Christina to not force the tie also would compel Kim and Sabrina to not force it.

Though Kim could have played her HII and most the women likely suspect she has it by now.

Regardless, as I said before, if Christina and Alicia weren't willing to take a shot at Chelsea or Kim at F9 or F7, when they had the majority to do it, then why would they do it now?

I agree with the women that Tarzan was a threat to get votes at FTC, regardless of how bitter the jury seemed against him. You could say Chris ruined it for any other guy in that same predicament.

And it is likely that Alicia wants to keep Kim around for the same reason that Kim wants to keep Chelsea and Sabrina: because she believes that if Kim wins the FIC, Kim would take her to the Finals.

You guys are forgetting that Alicia only talked about the purple rock before she had talked to Kim. If Kim hadn't been able to outwit Alicia about voting Tarzan, it wouldn't have been hard to convince Alicia that a tie vote to save Tarzan would have alienated Kim, Sabrina and Chelsea so even if she had the necklace this time, what would have happened if Christina had picked the rock? Alicia would have been dead at the next TC. Now, she still has a nice road to FTC.

"You could say Chris ruined it for any other guy in that same predicament."

Chris faced a jury of womnen though, 5 out of 7. What killed Tarzan's chances was the bloated jury which put all those men on the jury and the F3 where the 2 women would split their votes. He would have had a better shot to make the F4 under the old format.

I'm not forgetting Alicia only talked about the purple rock before she talked to Kim...I not only acknowledge it, I believe that's the best way to go.

The last thing you want to do is give a habitual liar like Kim ANY time to try to spin things or fabricate falsehoods and/or tactics to counter any strategy Alicia/Tarzan/Christina may be planning. What you want is for Kim and Sabrina to get hit with the concept that one of them, who have played solid games up to this point, has a 33% percent chance of watching it slip through their hands courtesy of the purple rock without any time to collaborate or discuss. Given that scenario, I am certain at least one of them would have changed their vote to avoid the purple rock.

I agree. If Christina pulls the purple rock Alicia's chances go up in smoke. So what's her chances to win now with Tarzan out of the picture? AHHHHH...can we say "ZERO."

WE can say zero but we are not in the game. I am sure you are familiar with the concept of the fog of war.

Alicia knows two things: She didn't betray anyone on the jury except for Kat and Tarzan but Kim also backstabbed them) and Alicia's ideas have been followed. With the information at her disposal, she can compare her game favorably with Kim's.

As for telling Kim at the last moment, that's how you treat an opponent, not the one you consider your closest ally. Had she done that and even if Christina doesn't pick the purple rock, Alicia would have lost Kim, Sabrina and Chelsea's votes in the end. Add Kat who sees her as a bitch and suddenly Tarzan needs only 1 of the guys to vote for him. I'd say that even Christina beats her in that scenario!

From your perspective the rock made sense. From Alicia's, it was suicide.

It's not only me paying attention to rewards, ICs, what players say, etc...everyone in the game is also aware. Even those too ignorant to see the noses on their faces had it layed out perfectly clear by Troy.

I'll go along that some may be hoping for a bitter jury as far as Kim's advancement is concerned...but what about Chelsea??? For anyone sitting in the Finals with Kim and Chelsea, all a bitter jury accomplishes is Kim's votes going to her faithful soldier Chelsea. So how does that put the third person in the Finals in a better position to win?

"And yes, the same reasoning that would compel Christina to not force the tie also would compel Kim and Sabrina to not force it."

I could not disagree with you anymore on this point. Christina has been playing with "house money" since Day 3; whereas Team Kim has controlled the game. It would be FAR MORE reasonable for Christina to throw caution to the wind on the basis of this fact...a caution Kim (or Sabrina) would be less compelled to do. Using a perfect analogy if you've been playing Texas Hold'em with house money and you're the short stack it's a whole lot easier going all in...something the chip leader would be less compelled to do.

"Though Kim could have played her HII and most the women likely suspect she has it by now."

Not sure what Kim's HII has to do with the scenario of Alicia/Tarzan/Christina forcing a tie? If she plays her HII before the votes are read (the only time she is able to play according to my interpretation of the rule) she just burned her HII on a Chelsea/Tarzan 3-3 tie. Once the votes are read and a tie is tallied, I do not believe Kim would be able to take out the HII to save Chelsea.

"Regardless, as I said before, if Christina and Alicia weren't willing to take a shot at Chelsea or Kim at F9 or F7, when they had the majority to do it, then why would they do it now? "

BINGO!!!! THAT'S what I've been saying all along. I hear you on that point. If they were morons, zombies, and/or coattail riders at F9 or F7, I agree they would be morons, zombies, coattail riders at F6. You are who you are who you are.

>I'll go along that some may >be hoping for a bitter >jury as far as Kim's >advancement is concerned...but what about >Chelsea???

Alicia thinks Kim wants Chelsea gone and there are two more rounds to go. Alicia thinks the F3 will be her, Kim and Christina. Why risk it to boot Chelsea too early? Better let Kim do it and lose one more vote.

>I could not disagree with you >anymore on this point. Christina >has been playing with "house >money" since Day 3; whereas >Team Kim has controlled the >game. It would be FAR >MORE reasonable for Christina to >throw caution to the wind >on the basis of this >fact...a caution Kim (or Sabrina) >would be less compelled to >do. Using a perfect analogy >if you've been playing Texas >Hold'em with house money and >you're the short stack it's >a whole lot easier going >all in...something the chip leader >would be less compelled to >do.

You are forgetting Human nature in your analysis. I see that Christina has been scared shitless to make a move, any move. Why would she pick a rock when she isn't on the line? Remember that it was Tom and Ian who were willing to pick a rock, not Katie. If you are saying that Christina reminds you more of Tom than Katie then I don't follow you!

>Not sure what Kim's HII has >to do with the scenario >of Alicia/Tarzan/Christina forcing a tie? > If she plays her >HII before the votes are >read (the only time she >is able to play according >to my interpretation of the >rule) she just burned her >HII on a Chelsea/Tarzan 3-3 >tie. Once the votes are >read and a tie is >tallied, I do not believe >Kim would be able to >take out the HII to >save Chelsea.

No but some posters believe that by using the HII, Kim, like Alicia, wouldn't have to pick a rock. I am not sure about that but the funny thing is that the players must not know either!

>"Regardless, as I said before, if >Christina and Alicia weren't willing >to take a shot at >Chelsea or Kim at F9 >or F7, when they had >the majority to do it, >then why would they do >it now? " >>BINGO!!!! THAT'S what I've been >saying all along. I hear >you on that point. If >they were morons, zombies, and/or >coattail riders at F9 or >F7, I agree they would >be morons, zombies, coattail riders >at F6. You are who >you are who you are. >>>And there you have it...my biggest >gripe of this season!

But that is Iltarion's position. If you remember, I have always said that F9 or F7 was too early. At F9, it was simply giving the game to Troyzan, while at F7, it was giving it to Kat. Now would have been the time to act but Kim was smart to remove Alicia's power with the last two votes.

However, there is still a move to make: If Alicia was afraid that Tarzan would be wise to take Sabrina and Christina to the end, why doesn't she steal that plan? And Alkicia has a strong selling point: An alliance of minorities, one Hispanic, one African American and one Asian against the dominating Caucasians. She could sell it.

However, when you consider that she was never in the majority women's alliance and if no tribal switch was likely the 5th person out, it is actually kind of impressive that she is still in the game.

In fact if the men hadn't decided to go to TC to vote Bill out Christina might not have even made it to the switch. She has caught some lucky breaks along the way, just none that countered the ultimate day 1 unlucky break.

Unlucky break? Almost every season sees an alliance formed at the start and the trek often gives players reasons to unite: They see who is putting in the effort, who is just walking along and who is too hyper. We don't know why Christina wasn't included but it probably wasn't only luck.

I would also point out that I have no problem with Christina ratting out Chelsea.

Like Chelsea did with her RC win, Christina was simply trying to play the good soldier and further solidify her alliance with Alicia and Kim.

Ironically, if Christina doesn't rat out Chelsea, Chelsea quite possibly sticks to her word and takes Christina on reward. If she does that, Kim might have had second thoughts about fighting to keep Chelsea.

So, the consequence of her actions was unintentionally good for Chelsea and bad for Christina. However, she couldn't have known that when she did it.

Actually, in the edit, we only heard Chelsea say "you should go" to Christina if Chelsea won reward. That hardly constitutes a promise to take her. There may have been a more concrete assurance given that we weren't shown.

When Chelsea defended herself at TC, she merely said "Christina broke her word to me too." She did not say HOW she broke her word or who told her. Christina looked confused about what she was talking about, no surprise. In other words, there was no threat of Kim being outed, nor did it really matter since the votes were likely already decided.

Lastly, why didn't Kim give Chelsea her HII and remove any doubt of a Chelsea boot? With Sabrina and Chelsea both in the F5, Kim wouldn't need the HII to get to F4. She is protected, regardless. It is possible that Kim agreed to this until Alicia and Christina assured her that the vote was Tarzan. Of course, the edit would leave that out to give us some suspense for the TC.

1- Kim: The way she played Alicia was Outwitting at its very best. Her acting was so good that Alicia thought she was the one that figured out they were being Tarzaned! Survivor at its best.

2- Sabrina: She could be Kim's blindspot, having been able to get out of danger. She is likable and could get a lot of jury votes. Her lack of game play was evident however when Kim told her that Tarzan was thinking of taking her to the end. It didn't even seem to cross her mind that it would be a good option for her.

3- Chelsea: Her attempt to get Christina on her side could have blown Kim's cover. It showed once more that her game is inferior to Kim's. Luckily, Kim was able to sway Alicia.

4- Alicia: In her mind, she is playing the perfect game!I will be curious to hear her comments after it's all over.

5- Christina: She could have had a good underdog story if the editors hadn't forgotten her. If she was a little more bright, she would have realized she had nothing to fear from Tarzan so she could have brought the Misfits back together.

Booted - Tarzan: He had one too many conversation, opening the door for Kim. His tactic could have worked in another season.

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